The Daily Iowan WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2024
THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA COMMUNITY SINCE 1868
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Jordan Barry | The Daily Iowan
Kilo plays guitar near his camp on Sept. 23, 2023. At the time, Kilo was living within the southside encampment located off the Iowa River. “I never expected to be homeless in Iowa City,” Kilo said.
A CITY WITHIN: AN INSIDE LOOK AT HOMELESSNESS A Daily Iowan photojournalist followed several unhoused Iowa City residents over the course of five months. Jordan Barry Photojournalist jordan-barry@uiowa.edu Editor’s note: Jordan Barry is a Daily Iowan photojournalist from the Iowa City area and a University of Iowa student double majoring in anthropology and journalism and mass communications. Barry spent five months following a community of local individuals experiencing homelessness and documented their stories. The piece is written in a first-person perspective to provide a more intimate understanding of the individuals who were followed. For the safety of the individuals discussed, The Daily Iowan has agreed to the sources’ request to only be referred to by their first names.
INSIDE
Jordan Barry | The Daily Iowan
Jessie looks back toward her camp in the early evening on Sept. 22, 2023. Jessie hails from Georgia and said she faced trauma in her upbringing there.
Just south of Highway 6 near South Gilbert Street in Iowa City, along a wooded embankment abutting the Iowa River, a makeshift community for local unhoused individuals burst into flames in early October, bringing with it the attention of city law enforcement and media. The property — dubbed “Tent City” or “River Camp” by some of those who lived there — is owned by the Iowa City Municipal Airport Commission who have since evicted over a dozen people residing on the land. Airport officials are working with Shelter House to provide resources for the individuals displaced by the fire. I visited the camp for about a month and a half before the fire, during which time I became acquainted with a number of the individuals living there. I was hesitant to photograph my first day at the encampment as I could sense the collective uneasiness surrounding my being there. But
as weeks passed to months, the tension of my presence seemed to soften. Individuals opened up to me about their lives and in doing so opened up a part of Iowa City that I had never known. I encountered new perspectives during the project while talking and spending time with people who are unhoused, which I found to be extremely rewarding. I was motivated by the resilience of Iowa City’s most marginalized residents, proof that hope persists in some of the darkest places. On the day of the fire, I was one of the first journalists at the camp. Having been there multiple times before, I was concerned for the well-being of the people who considered this small stretch of land their home. I’m not suggesting other journalists were not equally troubled, but I was struck
UNHOUSED | 3A
Resources on the chopping block Federal data shows people experiencing homelessness in Iowa is rising. Roxy Ekberg Politics Reporter roxy-ekberg@uiowa.edu
UI health experts push education on Narcan administration University of Iowa health specialists are working to increase access to the naloxone drug for use in Iowa schools. NEWS | 2A
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Advocates for Iowans experiencing homelessness say recent and proposed state policies that would reduce resources available for unhoused people threaten the growing population. Amid an increase in people experiencing homelessness in Iowa, Gov. Kim Reynolds’ plan would eliminate state boards and commissions, including the Iowa Council on Homelessness. While Reynolds claims the cuts will make state government more efficient and effective, critics question if the decision will reduce resources for the unhoused. After previous legislation barred cities’ restrictions on source-of-income discrimination — allowing landlords to reject tenants using vouchers — some critics worry the reorganization plan would decrease support for an already vulnerable population. Reynolds’ plan to reduce the size of government will eliminate 111 of Iowa’s 256 boards for a 43 percent decrease. The majority of the boards and commissions will be absorbed by other boards or have their powers delegated Reynolds to state agencies. But 39 will be entirely eliminated, including the homelessness council. Depending on the pace of the legislation, David Hagen, a member of the Iowa Council on Homelessness, said the council recognizes it
Ayrton Breckenridge | The Daily Iowan
Lawmakers sit in the house chamber during the first day of the 2024 Iowa legislative session at the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines on Jan. 8. may dissolve in July because of the elimination of the board by the legislature. State and national data show a current increase in people experiencing homelessness. The annual Point in Time report conducted by the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development revealed 2,653 unhoused individuals on
a single given night in 2023 in Iowa, which is the highest number recorded in the report since 2018. HUD’s Annual Homeless Assessment Report showed a 12 percent increase in homelessness nationally in 2023 — the highest number of people
COMMISSIONS | 2A